- President Donald Trump reportedly encouraged Fox News host Sean Hannity to pursue legal action against The New York Times for reporting he downplayed the severity of the coronavirus, The Daily Beast reported.
- Hannity's lawyer Charles Harder — who has also worked with the president — wrote a 12-page letter to The Times demanding an apology and retraction of such reporting.
- Sources stressed to The Daily Beast that the threat of legal action "wasn't the president's idea," Trump did convey his support for the idea to Hannity.
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President Donald Trump supported the idea of Fox News' Sean Hannity filing a lawsuit against The New York Times for reports alleging that Hannity downplayed the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, The Daily Beast reported.
Hannity's lawyer Charles Harder — who has also worked with the president — wrote a 12-page letter Monday demanding a retraction and threatening a lawsuit against The Times following reports from the publication alleging he downplayed the threat of the coronavirus in the early stages of its development.
Such reports include a story about a bar owner who died of the virus, as well as an op-ed claiming Hannity had downplayed the severity of the coronavirus since March.
"Your attempt to single out and attack Mr. Hannity for his coronavirus coverage, when he was more responsible in his coverage that all of the foregoing individuals and media outlets, and your intentional disregard for the foregoing irresponsible Democratic Party politicians and Democratic Party-friendly media outlets ... establishes clear bias on your part in connection with Mr. Hannity and the Stories," Harder wrote in the letter.
Two sources familiar with the matter told The Beast that while the lawsuit "wasn't the president's idea," Trump did convey his support for the idea to Hannity.
When contacted by The Beast for a statement, Hannity said he "never spoke with the president nor consulted with him about my attorney's letter to The New York Times or who I should hire."
"Fake news," Hannity said in the statement, with an unprompted addendum saying: "And as previously stated, Michael Cohen was never my attorney." The Beast did not ask questions in relation to Hannity's connection to the president's former lawyer.
Despite the threats of legal action, The Times did not comply with Hannity's demands to retract their reporting.
"We have reported fairly and accurately on Mr. Hannity," a Times spokesperson told the Daily Beast. "There is no basis for a retraction or an apology."
Hannity and his legal team have not yet filed a lawsuit against the newspaper.
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